Marijuana Matters Statement on Structural Racism and Police Brutality
For Immediate Release
Washington, D.C. — The past days and weeks have brought on a deep sense of loss, pain, and fear. The murders of unarmed Black people, most recently George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, at the hands of white individuals and law enforcement agents is a narrative with which we are all too familiar. Along with the victims’ family and community members, these losses are felt collectively by Black people across the country.
Our country has long struggled to address the racial injustice and discrimination that takes place within our public institutions - spanning from education and health care to the criminal justice system. Black and Brown people continue to face a disproportionate number of arrests that can end fatally. On top of that, our drug policies continue to fail us. Members of our community share endless stories of racial profiling practices amid officers citing “cannabis odor” as a justification for inflicting violence upon Black communities. The weaponizing of cannabis to unjustly accost and arrest Black lives is the same phenomena Christian Cooper faced when Amy Cooper weaponized her whiteness against his very existence.
At Marijuana Matters we have never felt more connected to our charge of uplifting Black communities and identifying ways we can leverage cannabis legalization to mitigate hardships of collateral consequences caused by the failed war on drugs policy.
Our next step is to amplify and accelerate our work in education, advocacy and entrepreneurship:
Spend your money where your values are. Take the M2 Consumer Pledge
We recognize that too many people have had their lives ruined and communities destroyed by the collateral consequences of the war on drugs.
Add your voices to the social equity coalition in support of M4MM’s petition. We support Minorities for Medical Marijuana’s Petition for justice for George Floyd and we stand in solidarity with organizations supporting the decriminalization of cannabis.
Repair, Restore, and Reclaim. Support our Forty Acres and Mule Fund. It is a commitment to drug war reparations. We will support the economic empowerment of individuals and communities with focused resources and targeted programming.
Please continue to uplift one another during these times. #justiceforbreonnataylor #justiceforgeorgefloyd #justiceforahmaudarbery #justicefortheCOUNTLESSothers #movementforblacklives #blacklivesmatter #marijuanamatters
ABOUT MARIJUANA MATTERS:
Founded in 2017 Marijuana Matters is a registered non-profit that through advocacy, entrepreneurship, and education, identifies and eliminates barriers to economic opportunity in regulated cannabis markets for those disadvantaged by marijuana’s criminalization. Our vision is simple: repair what’s been dismantled, restore what’s been destroyed, and reclaim what’s been displaced.